Lauren Conklin is a violinist from Nashville, TN. She writes, arranges, and has over fifteen years of performance experience on several tours, including opening for acts such as Jools Holland, Montgomery Gentry, Josh Thompson, and Kix Brooks.

The DSLR Shopping Guide

01 Jan The DSLR Shopping Guide

Whether you’re a beginner, amateur, or pro, learn everything you need to know about how to buy a DSLR camera in this shopping guide from The Fox Shop.

While there are certain photographers in the crowd that swear by a particular brand of camera, we’re not those kinds of photographers. This DSLR Camera Shopping guide will inspire YOU as the photographer that you are more important than any piece of gear you can buy.

If digital camera sales were any indication of what the best brand was, then according to Amazon Canon would be a clear winner. As we write this, Canon manufactures at least 10 of the top 25 bestselling cameras on the Amazon bestseller list.

In addition, Canon holds 9 of the top 10 spots, with the top 3 being the PowerShot A570 IS, the PowerShot SD1000 Digital Elph, and the PowerShot SD850. Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, and even Kodak seem to make a few top spots, but not like Canon does.

Sure, sure, sure, Canon seems to sell more cameras than anyone else. But, are they really that much better? Take a look at our top choices for DSLR cameras, both for entry-level and intermediate photographers.

What is a crop sensor camera?

A crop sensor camera, as the name implies has a smaller or “cropped” sensor than it’s full-frame sensor counterpart. The most noticeable impact associated with this is what is called a “crop factor”.

The crop factor refers to the magnification of the field of view when looking through the viewfinder. For most AP-C and crop sensor DSLRs the crop factor is 1.5 or 1.6, so for easy math, let’s use 1.5 as the crop factor.

What is a full-frame camera?

The actual difference between crop and full-frame cameras is the actual, physical, size of the sensor that lives inside the camera.

The size is actually the same size as a frame of traditional 35mm film, which is why full-frame cameras were a must-have for anyone coming over to digital from shooting with film for years.

In terms of field of view when looking through the viewfinder, you’d get a similar “feel” between a full-frame DSLR and a 35mm film SLR.

Nikon D3300 – The D3300 is a small, easy to use HD-SLR. Capture beautiful 24.2-MP photos and 1080p Full HD videos with vibrant colors and softly blurred backgrounds, then share them instantly with your compatible smartphone and the optional WU-1a Wireless Adapter.

Intermediate + Professional (Full Frame + Mirrorless) Cameras:

Sony A7RIII – Thanks to an evolutionary leap in image processing power and efficiency, the a7R III combines a high resolution 42.4 MP back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS image sensor with impressive shooting speeds at up to 10 fps with full AF/AE tracking.

If you’re new to the world of digital cameras, that should at least give you an idea of who the big dogs are in this business.

Getting the perfect camera is never an easy thing, especially with the way digital technology is constantly changing. Fortunately, there are plenty of helpful websites online like us that can narrow down your search and help you find the camera with all the features important to you.